


Continue Running and Stumble Again

by kidultscoups



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Blind Date, Fluff, Happy Ending, I am so sorry, JK has a child, Kidfic, M/M, Misunderstandings, Strangers to Lovers, a shocking lack of namgi, and jin tbh, author uses SVT as side characters bc she has brain worms, everyone knows everyone and EVERYONE knows Kim Seokjin, happy holidays!, hobi is the most precious and stupid man alive, hopekook secret santa, i might revisit this universe if i ever feel spicy ngl, jung hoseok: textbook aquarius, mention Kim Seokjin/ Yoon Jeonghan, mentioned Jeon Wonwoo/ Xu Minghao, mentioned Kim Namjoon/ Min Yoongi, mingyu saves the day, poor attempt at angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:34:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28444740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kidultscoups/pseuds/kidultscoups
Summary: “Watch it, that’s my favorite cousin you’re talking about!” Jimin snaps in his direction.“Hyung, do you realise how sketchy this sounds?” Jungkook continues. “You’re all ‘Sure Gukkie, go on a blind date with this person I’ve never met and that I only know about because my favorite cousin has a husband that somehow knows half of Seoul, I’m sure he’s nice and totally not a murderer and will totally love you and Eunha,’ do you even hear yourself?”__________Or: Jeon Jungkook, 25, single dad, gets set up on a blind date with none other than Jung Hoseok. Jung Hoseok, 27, kindergarten teacher, jumps to conclusions for sport.
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Kim Mingyu, Jeon Jungkook/Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 49
Collections: Hopekook Secret Santa 2020





	Continue Running and Stumble Again

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello and happy last day of 2020!  
> This work is for the Hopekook Secret Santa and it is for the lovely chimwithaknife! I really hope you enjoy this fic!
> 
> The majority of this was written at 4am and I honestly talk too much about, uh, certain side characters, but I hope everyone will enjoy it anyways! I'm truly sorry for the lack of namgijin in here but I MIGHT write some spin-offs about them if this does well!
> 
> I will issue a general CW for implied cheating (like, someone THINKS someone is cheating but nobody actually is), other than that this fic is entirely free of anything harmful or triggering!
> 
> Before we start, please keep in mind that english isn't my first language!
> 
> Enjoy :D

“Oh come on Jungkookie, just this once!” Jimin whines, lips pulled into a full pout. He's on his feet, eagerly trying to convince Jungkook of his point.

Taehyung laughs from his spot on the couch, watching the scene unfold in front of him. It’s a common occurrence that his husband tries to convince their friend of one of his plans, but this one might just take the crown. 

“No,” Jungkook says, arms crossed. He’s sat at their kitchen table on one of the fancy-looking chairs Jimin insisted they get, looking as tired as always. 

Jimin, impossibly, pouts harder. Jungkook rolls his eyes.

“Despite, I don’t even know this guy! Who knows if he’s a serial killer or something?”

“Please, he’s Jeonghan’s husband’s friend and you know Seokjin-Hyung would never hang out with a serial killer,” Jimin retorts and Taehyung snickers:

“He did marry Jeonghan, Jiminie, and I wouldn’t put it past that one to get away with murder.”

“Watch it, that’s my favorite cousin you’re talking about!” Jimin snaps in his direction. 

“Hyung, do you realise how sketchy this sounds?” Jungkook continues. “You’re all ‘Sure Gukkie, go on a blind date with this person I’ve never met and that I only know about because my favorite cousin has a husband that somehow knows half of Seoul, I’m sure he’s nice and totally not a murderer and will totally love you and Eunha,’ do you even hear yourself?” Jungkook perks up, clearly mad. Jimin has been trying to get him back into dating for the better part of a year now, and the younger is fed up with it.

“You haven’t been with anyone since Haseul moved away and left you with Eunha after she was born, and that was three years ago. Be honest, when’s the last time you even got off?” 

Jungkook startles and ducks his head, growing pink around his nose. 

“That’s private business,” he mumbles towards the floor, which is Jungkook-speech for ‘I have no idea but it’s been way too long’.

Jimin makes a sympathetic noise, looking at their friend with something akin to pity in his eyes. 

“Look Jungkookie- no, don’t give me that face! Look, Tae and I are just worried for you,okay? You know Jeonghannie and you know Seokjin-Hyung, and they would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. I’m sure that this Hoseok-ssi is lovely and I can promise you that if Jin-Hyung likes him he’s a great person! Please just- just do it for Hyung? I promise you, if this one doesn’t work out I’ll never pester you with this again but I have a really good feeling about this,” he says, voice laced with genuine worry and that’s what convinces Jungkook.

“Fine,” he groans, rolling his eyes. Really, it’s so mean of Jimin to pull the Hyung-Card with this, but he does have a point. There hasn’t been anyone in his life since Haseul had left him and Eunha, and while he’s happy living with his daughter and best friend, he can’t help but yearn for a relationship, someone to come home to at the end of the day who loves him and Eunha more than anything else. And Jimin’s right, Jeonghan (or Seokjin, for that matter) would never unintentionally set him up with someone weird or even harmful, despite the former being what can only be described as The Biggest Libra Known To Man.

Jimin grins triumphantly and immediately whips out his phone to text his cousin, like he’s scared that Jungkook will change his mind still if there isn’t a secure date for this. 

And that’s how one Jeon Jungkook lands himself a blind date with his oldest friend’s cousin’s husband’s acquaintance. Great. 

☆☆☆

“Wait so let me get this straight,” Mingyu says, cuddled up to his boyfriend who’s bopping Eunha up and down on his legs. 

“You’re going out, on a real actual date, which is something that you haven’t done in  _ years _ , and you don’t even know the guy? Like, you only know of him because he’s Jimin-hyung’s cousin’s husband’s friend?”

Jungkook sighs. “See when you put it like that it sounds insane, but I know Seokjin-hyung and he’s friends with the guy so he really can’t be that bad, right?” He questions, concerned. Eunha looks at him almost accusingly and mumbles something that sounds like “Uncle Seokjin only knows cool people”, distracted by the cartoon that’s playing on TV. 

Admittedly, she does have a point. 

“Exactly,” says Seungcheol, an arm around Mingyu’s shoulders, looking at Jungkook calmingly. “Gyu and I are going to look after her, you go have fun and get yourself a boyfriend if it goes well!”

“You guys don’t have to watch after her, I can also ask Wonwoo and Minghao-” Jungkook starts but is quickly shut down with a stern look from Seungcheol. 

“Bullshit,” the older man says, raising one of the caterpillars he calls eyebrows. “You know damn well that Eunha here is my favorite little girl ever and that we love spending time with her, isn’t that right Eunha-yah?” He’s cooing into her hair now, still bopping her on his knees. Eunha, still distracted by her cartoon, only absent-mindedly pats his cheek with one of her tiny hands.

Mingyu grins widely. “What Hyung said! Plus, this way we can get her to bed early and you don’t have to pick her up anywhere, cause I live here anyways. You know, in case the date goes  _ really  _ well.” 

Jungkook sighs, defeated. There’s no way he could ever say no to his roommate-slash-best-friend (or his boyfriend for that matter), much like he can’t say no to Jimin and Taehyung. It’s exhausting sometimes, but he loves them all dearly. 

“Fine,” he says and moves to carry their dishes into the kitchen. 

“But don’t think I’m gonna be out for anything way past her bedtime, the date can’t go  _ that  _ well.”

He can practically see the smirks Mingyu and Seungcheol must be giving each other. 

☆☆☆

A week later, Jungkook finds himself across from a very handsome stranger at a table in a restaurant that’s way too fancy for his pay as a single game-designer with a child, but Seokjin’s paying for all of this apparently so it’s fine. 

Hoseok is perfectly nice, pulls Jungkook’s chair out for him, never stops engaging in conversation and has table manners so perfect Jungkook’s mom would probably adopt him in a heartbeat. 

Jungkook learns how Hoseok knows Seokjin (it’s a long story- apparently Hoseok’s housemates have this colleague whose flatmate is really good friends with Seokjin’s husband), he learns that Hoseok has an older sister and that his housemates are actually well known producers- Jungkook pales with awe and admiration when the names SUGA and RM are dropped-, and he tells Jungkook about his dog, Mickey. 

In turn, Jungkook talks about his work as a game-designer, how weird it sometimes is working very closely with his older brother and his older brother’s husband and about the dog he and Wonwoo had as children, a tiny feisty thing named Gureum.

He doesn’t mention Eunha once. It’s too early to open the whole “Yes I’m 25 with a three-year-old and Yes she’s biologically mine, No her mother and I aren’t in contact anymore, Yes I’m sure I like men” bag, and he wants to be sure of Hoseok before he even thinks about introducing him to his little sunshine. She’s too important to him, too young and fragile after already being left by her mother. He wouldn’t dare introduce her to someone who’s bound to leave anyways. 

So, Hoseok is perfectly nice, but their conversation isn’t more than small talk, and Jungkook begins to feel awkward, unsure of what to bring up. They sit in uncomfortable silence for a while, both stuffing their mouths with food so they don’t have to speak. 

Jungkook is about to make a mental note declaring this date as a failure when Hoseok sets down his chopsticks, clears his throat softly and says “so, uh, Seokjin-hyung mentioned you dance?” 

Jungkook’s eyes widen at those words and hsis lips curl into a grin around his spoon. He quickly chews and swallows while nodding. 

“I do! Next to work, of course, it’s a hobby I’ve had since I was little!” he almost chokes out, excited to talk about a passion of his that not many of his friends understand or share (really, the only ones are Jimin and Minghao, and they both do contemporary.)

Hoseok grins, eyes sparkling. 

“What style do you do? I’ve been dancing since before I could walk, it’s like 70% of my personality at this point!” 

When Jungkook mentions that he mostly does hip-hop and modern dance, Hoseok’s eyes get a gaze to them that almost seems loving. It’s the same gaze Seungcheol has when he looks at Mingyu, the same look Jungkook has when he looks at Eunha. It’s obvious how much he loves dance, how passionate he is about it. Jungkook almost feels awestruck when Hoseok starts talking about how long he’s been dancing, how hard he’s worked to win some local competitions. 

From then on it’s like a switch has been flipped. Conversation flows so easily between them that it’s almost like they’ve known each other for years and are just catching up. They end up talking for hours about their shared passion and before they know it, Jungkook’s phone lights up with a text message from Mingyu and he realises how late it’s gotten. 

“Oh, damnit,” he murmurs, looking at his phone clock that clearly reads 10:10pm. It’s way past Eunha’s bedtime already and while he trusts Mingyu and Seungcheol to have gotten her to bed on time, something in him is restless at the thought of not having been able to bid her goodnight.

“We should go right?” Hoseok says, looking at his own phone. “We probably both need to be up early tomorrow for work and it’s already so late.”

He almost sounds apologetic, but Jungkook just nods in agreement. As nice as this date has been and as much as he’d like to see Hoseok again, right now he wants nothing more than to be home with his baby and his stupid roommate to retell the evening in every tiny detail.

They’re hit with the cold october air when they head outside, the sun having long gone down and leaving no trace of warmth. The two of them stand there for a while, not knowing what to say until Hoseok once again clears his throat and saves the situation.

"Listen Jungkook, I don't know if you feel the same way but I'd really like to see you again if possible. This evening was really nice and I think we hit it off well, don't you think so?"

Jungkook feels a dumb grin forming on his face and a blush spreading across his cheeks.

"I'd really like to see you again, too," he says, hiding his blushing cheeks behind his scarf. Hoseok takes a timid step closer to him. "I'm usually not the type to do this on a first date," he says, voice down to a whisper. Jungkook's breath gets stuck in his throat, his heart beating a mile a minute.

"Jungkookie, can I kiss you?" Hoseok asks, the tone of his voice a mixture between hopeful and scared.

Before he realises what he's doing, Jungkook has closed the distance between them and presses his lips against Hoseok's.

It's warm at first, their breaths mixing together in the cold air. Then it's sweet, the taste of their dessert still fresh on both of their lips. Hoseok, Jungkook realises, tastes like a mixture of the mochi they had and something else, something deep and entrancing. Something that Jungkook can't get enough of.

Hoseok, Jungkook also realises, kisses like a man starved for food. It's almost like he's drinking up every movement Jungkook makes, every tilt of his head and every sweep of his tongue until the younger feels a pleasant buzz strumming through his veins.

When they finally break apart, both struggling to catch their breaths, Hoseok removes his hands from where they're clutched firmly into the lapel's of Jungkook's jacket and offers him a smile.

"I gotta, uh-" he stammers and points in a direction opposite of the one Jungkook needs to head home to. Again Jungkook just nods and takes his own hand off Hoseok's shoulders.

"So, uhm, I'll see you around?" he asks and Hoseok shoots him a blinding smile that makes the butterflies in Jungkook's stomach dance excitedly.

"I'd love that."

☆☆☆

"You look happy," Mingyu grins from his spot on the couch, trapped under a softly snoring Seungcheol. Jungkook blushes again and toes his shoes off at the entryway, a soft smile still on his lips.

"Oh he was wonderful," he grins and sits down next to Mingyu's feet on the couch (and really he has no idea how this couch fits Seungcheol, Mingyu in all his six-foot-three glory  _ and  _ Jungkook, but he'll take it.)

"Yeah? Tell me more!" his best friend says and moves up on the couch so he's half sitting up and half lying down, his boyfriend's head still on his chest.

"He was just really nice and we hit it off so well and god I want to see him again so badly!" Jungkook can't contain the excitement in his voice, the memory of Hoseok practically kissing the living daylights out of him fresh on his mind. His cheeks hurt from grinning and he feels like a child with a crush again, untouched by the world, naivety and hope still prevalent in his mind. He likes how Hoseok makes him feel as young as he should feel at 25, without the worries of having to raise a child all by himself. As much as he adores Eunha and as quickly as he'd give up anything for her, sometimes he wishes his life could be normal, that he could just be a stupid, irresponsible guy in his 20s who takes the wrong people home and gets absolutely wasted on the weekend. Someone who's allowed to be reckless and throw all care out of the window because the only thing he has to take care of is some succulent someone once got him.

Hoseok makes him feel like he can be all those things and more, like a completely new person.

So he tells Mingyu how well their date went, voices hushed so as not to wake up Seungcheol and Eunha who's sleeping soundly in her room, her soft snores sounding from the baby monitor on the living room table. Mingyu listens attentively, wide-eyed and smiling happily.

"You know," he says once Jungkook is done talking about his evening, "that Hoseok guy sounds like he's absolutely perfect for you. You two plan on going out again, right?"

Jungkook just nods.

☆☆☆

"Seokmin!" Hoseok shouts through the room, holding a crying child. "Beomgyu threw up again, can you get me a rag and ask Soonyoung to call his parents? He might have a stomach bug or something, we don't need to get the other kids sick!"

"On it!" Seokmin shouts back and then almost immediately appears with a wet rag and a soft smile on his face, ready to calm Beomgyu down and save the day as usual.

Hoseok sighs. He loves his job as a kindergarten teacher, he really does, but sometimes the kids can be exhausting, especially when they're sick.

It takes all of ten minutes to calm Beomgyu down, half of which Seokmin and Hoseok spend wiping vomit off Beomgyu's face and the floor. When his parents finally arrive to pick him up it's almost time for everyone else to go home, and Hoseok, Seokmin and Soonyoung gather everyone in a circle to talk about their day before sending them off. He smiles as Soobin and Yeonjun tell him about the sandcastle they built and softly explains to Taehyun and Kai why Beomgyu had to go home. They end their day together with a song, as usual, and when Soonyoung peaks through their blinds to see which parents are already there to pick their kids up, his mouth curls into a wide grin, eyes scrunching up so much they almost disappear.

"Eunha-yah, someone special is there to see you!" he says and the little girl jumps up from her tiny chair, all but sprinting towards the cloakroom to wrestle on her shoes and her coat. The other kids follow her and the second Soonyoung opens the door to let them out to their parents, it's pure chaos, like every day.

Hoseok stays behind, hidden by the door, keeping an eye on Eunha because he (not so) secretly has a huge soft spot for her. The smile on his face falters when he sees who she's running towards.

Jungkook. There's Jungkook, wearing the same turtleneck that he'd left Hoseok's apartment in the night prior to hide the lovebites Hoseok had given him, clutching Eunha in his arms, the little girl letting out high squeals of  _ Appa,  _ the man who usually picks Eunha up (tall, handsome, eerily reminding Hoseok of an overgrown puppy, named Ming-something) behind Jungkook with a hand on his back and an adoring smile on his face.

Hoseok feels absolutely sick to his stomach, his heart beating irregularly and his breathing going too quick and shallow. His vision blurs and before he knows it he's in his office, balls of his hands pressed into his eyelids, trying to swallow down hot and heavy tears. This can't be real. There is no way Jungkook, sweet sweet Jungkook, has been lying to him all this time, right? There is no way this sweet boy has been keeping a daughter and a partner from him, just using Hoseok to cheat, right? It sounds impossible to him, but the evidence is right there.

"Hyung?" he hears a concerned voice from the door and when he whips around he sees Seokmin, worry obvious on his face. "What's going on, what happened?" he asks, panicked, arms already opening in a hug, and that's when Hoseok breaks down.

It takes way too long for him to calm down enough to be able to explain the situation to a very carefully listening Seokmin. Hoseok tells him how the guy he's been seeing that's made him so happy recently apparently has a child, and how that child apparently is their little Eunha. He explains how Eunha's other dad (Mingyu, Seokmin reminds him) has no idea that his partner is cheating on him, and that he's using Hoseok to do it.

"I really thought I was close to falling in love with him," he chokes out at the end and Seokmin, ever the empath, holds back a sob.

"That's awful Hyung!" he cries out and uses the sleeve of his sweater to wipe away the tears spilling from his eyes. "I'm so sorry that he'd do that to you, what are you even supposed to do about it?"

Hoseok shrugs. Truthfully he has no idea what he's supposed to do, but he knows what he wants to do.

"Block his contact, ignore him. That's what I'm gonna do. Use this as a lesson to not let Seokjin-Hyung set me up on any more blind dates with assholes and move on with my life I guess."

And so he takes out his phone and blocks Jungkook's number, deletes all their messages and swears to himself to not let this affect Eunha in any way.

After all, she deserves better than to suffer under her father's infidelity.

☆☆☆

"She'll be so excited to see you!" Mingyu beams from the driver's seat of his car next to Seungcheol. The two of them are on their way to pick up Eunha from  _ Huimang Kindergarten _ at the same time as every day, except today Jungkook is also there, sitting in the back and happily smiling. It's a rare occurrence that his hectic work schedule allows him enough free time to pick his baby up in the afternoon so usually Mingyu does the honors (most often alone, sometimes accompanied by his boyfriend) since his shifts at the Restaurant don't start until late.

"I hope so!" Jungkook says and fiddles with his phone. Hoseok's last text message to him is still open, an array of heart emojis staring at him and the promise of their planned date on the weekend making his heart flutter. He's wearing a turtleneck to hide the hickeys Hoseok had left the night before, not wanting anyone (and especially not his baby!) to see them. Wonwoo's endless teasing at work had already been enough.

When Mingyu parks the car Jungkook almost jumps out, too excited to see Eunha. He and Mingyu leave Seungcheol in the car and make their way to the front doors. Mingyu makes small talk with some of the other parents while Jungkook takes in his surroundings. Sure, he's been here before to sign Eunha up, but he hasn't really set foot in the establishment since and it's changed a bit since he last saw everything. The paper flowers on the wall that were there in spring when he'd last been here were replaced by colorful leaves to match the season and some of the chairs and tables had been moved. The whole building is kept in warm, welcoming tones and Jungkook can immediately tell why his daughter loves coming here so much.

When the door they're waiting in front of opens they're met with a hoard of yelling and screaming kids, barely held back by the two teachers. Jungkook hears the one that looks kind of like a hamster (but is, for some reason, almost entirely dressed in tiger print) let out a "careful, Chan!" before a small child can barrel into his father's knee face first. Jungkook recognises him from the day he signed Eunha up here and remembers that his name was Seeyoung or Soonyoung or something, and that he immediately made his baby feel comfortable. Then, his attention is entirely consumed by a happy "Appa!" and Eunha skipping towards him with a huge smile on her face. He immediately gets down on his knees to engulf her in a big, crushing hug, pressing his nose into her hair and peppering tiny kisses along her top of her head. When they finally break apart she animatedly starts telling him about how "Seokkie-ssaem showed us how to make paper snowflakes and then Soonie-ssaem let us ride on his shoulders!" and while she's talking, Jungkook sees a person that looks scarily close to Hoseok in his peripheral vision, but before he can lift his head to check the person is already gone, quickly followed by the tall teacher with the long nose, who is wearing a worried frown instead of the wide smile he'd been showing all throughout the past few minutes.

"Appa, can we get ice cream?" Eunha asks then, and Jungkook immediately forgets what just happened when he looks into her huge, dark brown eyes peering up at him with a pleading look in them, and all worries he has melt away.

The worry returns a few hours later after dinner, when Hoseok still hasn't texted him back. It's not unusual for him to leave Jungkook on delivered for a few hours, but usually that's during the day when both of them are busy at work. By now Jungkook knows that Hoseok is a kindergarten teacher, but his apartment is far enough from Jungkook's that the chance of him being Eunha's teacher is almost comically small. Plus, Jungkook is sure he's never heard her mentioning a Hoseok-ssaem, and he would bet his left arm that his little girl would be absolutely enamoured with him.

But as it is, Hoseok hasn't texted him all day and Jungkook knows for a fact that he's not at work, so where can he be?

"Stop worrying, he's probably just out with friends," Mingyu tells him before he leaves and Jungkook really hopes that's the case, because if it isn't and something happened to Hoseok, he doesn't know what he'd do with himself.

After he tucks Eunha into bed and checks his phone again, he realises that his messages aren't even getting delivered. They still aren't when he wakes up the next morning, or the next afternoon, and when he decides to call Hoseok in the evening, his suspicion is confirmed with a monotonous "The person you are trying to reach is currently not available. Please call back at a later time."

With a shaking voice hand he picks up his phone again and dials the one number he knows by heart, and it takes him all the strength in the world to take a deep breath and say: "Hyung, I think Hoseok ghosted me."

  
  


☆☆☆

"Wait so he just, like, dipped?" Jimin asks, firmly hugging Jungkook to his chest.

"Yes, he's such an asshole!" Jungkook cries into Jimin's shoulder, nose stuffy and eyes rimmed red. He looks like an absolute mess and it's all Hoseok's fault. Jimin swears he's going to find some really creative way to murder the guy for making his Jungkookie feel like this.

"But why would he just disappear without an explanation and block your number? That makes no sense to me," Taehyung mumbles absent-mindedly and strokes Jungkook's hair. Surely there's an explanation for this?

"God, the worst part is that I was so sure about him," Jungkook sobs. "Like, I was gonna introduce him to Eunha and all and let him into that part of my world, and then he just fucking ghosts me?! What kind of asshole does this?"

His heart hurts, a painful ache replacing the butterflies that usually flutter around in his stomach whenever he thinks about Hoseok and his heart-shaped smile and his soft hands and genuine words. He feels like he lost his soulmate, his other half, with no explanation and it rips his heart into pieces.

"What are you going to do about it, bun?" Jimin asks and Jungkook shrugs.

"Block his contact as well, ignore him. That's what I'm gonna do. Use this as a lesson to not let Seokjin-Hyung set me up on any more blind dates with assholes and move on with my life I guess."

And so he does.

☆☆☆

The whole situation takes a twist a few days before christmas break. Their day at the kindergarten is already chaotic and hectic, trying to balance Christmas themed arts-n-crafts with a bunch of three year olds as well as their usual duties. Roughly half an hour before their usual ending time, Seokmin waves Hoseok over with an apologetic smile on his face.

"Hyung I know this is really last minute but could you stay a bit longer and watch after Eunha? Mingyu-ssi just called me and asked if we could keep her a bit longer because there was an emergency at his workplace. I'd do it myself but Soonyoung-Hyung and I are supposed to meet his grandma to tell her about the engagement and we really can't be late for that."

Hoseoks sighs deeply but nods nonetheless. It's not like he has anything else to do, his afternoons hauntingly free ever since he'd ended things with Jungkook.

When he squats down next to Eunha to tell her that her dad would be a bit late today she gives him a funny look but then immediately gets back to coloring the snowman in her little book so Hoseok thinks nothing of it. He sits besides her and lets her draw while the other kids are getting picked up, her small eyebrows furrowed in concentration, button nose scrunching up whenever she draws over a line. They sit like that for a while before Hoseok hears a knock at the door and sees Mingyu, looking like he'd just run a mile.

He takes a while to muster Mingyu, taking in his appearance entirely. He looks tall, taller than Namjoon even, and his dark hair is swept back, likely due to the wind outside. He almost looks like he could be on the cover of some fashion magazine and briefly, Hoseok is almost absurdly flattered that someone would use him to cheat on someone who looks like that. Then, Mingyu smiles and gently waves at him, and Hoseok is reminded of why he's there.

"Eunha-yah, your Appa is here," he says softly and Eunha's head whips up before she frowns at Hoseok.

"Appa? Hobi-ssaem, that's just Uncle Mingyu!" she says, almost scowling and Hoseok's entire world stops. Uncle?

"Uncle?" he asks, trying to mask the shock in his voice. He isn't Eunha's other dad?

"Yeah!" Eunha says, gathering her things and grinning over at Mingyu who's still waiting by the door. "He and Appa live together but Uncle Mingyu and Uncle Cheollie are together I think, they always cuddle on the couch and give each other kisses when Appa's not looking and they think I can't see them." she almost sounds offended at the last part and sticks out her tongue to show her disgust.

"I'm sorry, what?" Hoseok asks nobody in particular. He takes a look at Mingyu, then at Eunha. Blinks once, twice, shakes his head in disbelief. He feels himself go pale when he realises what this means, and for the second time in just a few weeks he's pretty sure he's about to pass out at his place of work, only this time there's no Seokmin to save him.

"Is something wrong?" he hears a voice and notices Mingyu standing right in front of him, Eunha balanced on his hip and a worried look in his eyes.

"You're just Uncle Mingyu," is all he can reply, which gets him a choked noise and another questioning look from the other man.

"I- yes? What is going on here?" he asks again and Hoseok feels like the biggest idiot on the planet.

"I'm an idiot, I thought you were Jungkook's boyfriend," he stammers out, staring into empty space. Mingyu just lets out a disbelieving laugh.

"I'm sorry, what? How did you get to  _ that _ conclusion?"

Hoseok sighs. Knowing what he did, he's really not proud of his actions and he'd rather cut off an arm than tell Mingyu, but it seems like he has to.

"I'm- oh god this is going to sound horrible, but please hear me out. I got set up on a blind date with Jungkook a while ago and we really hit it off and stuff but he never told me he had a child, so one day I see him pick up our Eunha here from this very kindergarten I work at and I saw you with her so I just, I assumed you two were together and he was just using me to cheat on you and I felt so incredibly heartbroken that I just... blocked him and never contacted him again."

He's looking at the floor, not daring to look up at Mingyu, but he can feel the other man's eyes on him. When he finally lifts his head he's met with a deep and angry frown, and for a second he feels absolutely terrified.

"Ah so you're the person who broke my best friend's heart." he states and somehow seems to grow even taller, the confused toddler in his arms doing nothing to lessen his threatening aura. He can only muster a weak nod in lieu of a response.

Then, as if the fog had lifted, Mingyu's face lights up, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Well come on then!" he says, extending the hand that isn't holding Eunha up towards Hoseok.

"We can still fix this!"

☆☆☆

The drive back towards Jungkook and Mingyu's shared apartment is awkward. Hoseok's in the passenger seat next to Mingyu, Eunha at the back seeming really excited yet confused that her Hobi-ssaem is coming back home with them. They sit in tense silence for a while before Mingyu clears his throat and asks: "so, uh, how do you know Seokjin-Hyung?"

"Oh that's a long story," Hoseok says. "Basically my two roommates, Namjoon and Yoongi- you might know SUGA and RM? They have this co-worker who goes by WOOZI, and his roommate is best friends with Jeonghan, Seokjin-Hyung's husband. We all met last year because Namjoonie was  _ convinced  _ I'd hit it off with his coworker's roommate, but he already had a boyfriend and we never really stayed in contact."

At his last words, Mingyu starts to giggle uncontrollably, shaking so hard Hoseok is almost worried for their safety.

"That's me!" he beams when he's finally calmed down a bit. "The person your roommate said you'd hit it off with, he was named Seungcheol, right?"

Hoseok nods, then realises Mingyu's eyes are focused on the road so he lets out a small "yes."

"Yeah, so, I'm the boyfriend he had at the time. Still has, actually, we've been going strong for two years now!" he starts giggling again, absolutely delighted by the comical situation that's playing out right in front of him. "First someone tries to set you up with my boyfriend and now my best friend, it's almost like the universe wanted us to meet! Well, I hope you can fix things with Jungkook, I'm sure we'll be great friends," he says, still chuckling. It takes Hoseok one look at his bunched up cheeks and friendly grin to decide that, Yes, they would be.

It's a few hours later, Hoseok sitting awkwardly on their couch, the coffee Mingyu had offered him half-drunken and cold in his mug, when the front door unlocks. His breath gets caught in his throat when he sees Jungkook for the first time in weeks, clad in a simple black coat and shaking snowflakes out of his hair. He takes off his boots, then his coat, and then finally looks up and sees Hoseok. He freezes mid-movement, unsure of what to do or say, and lets out a long, silent wheeze that sounds weirdly similar to a deflating balloon.

"You- what are you doing here? How did you get in?!" he demands, his forehead wrinkling up in a mix of confusion and anger. Hoseok can't blame him.

"I came to explain, if that's okay. I actually came here with Mingyu so that's how I got in, uhm- sit?" he offers awkwardly. Jungkook crosses his arms, still in the entryway.

"I'd rather stand, thank you," he says, sounding almost furious. "Explain yourself," he demands again and raises an eyebrow.

"Okay so, this is going to make me sound like the biggest asshole on the planet and in hindsight it was incredibly stupid, but please hear me out. If you want me to leave after I'm done talking I will."

Jungkook nods at him expectantly, urging him to go on.

"So, I work at  _ Huimang  _ Kindergarten, you just didn't know that because you only met Soonyoungie because he handles the sign ups. So, uh, that one time last month where you picked Eunha up? I saw you and Mingyu and kind of, just, assumed you two were her dads and that you were using me to cheat on him? Which is a really huge conclusion to jump to, but I was kind of in shock because you suddenly have a whole ass child that goes to the very kindergarten I happen to work at, and you and Mingyu looked so family-like that it just made sense to me so i ran and blocked and essentially ghosted you without talking to you or anyone first and I am so very sorry for that, Jungkook, please believe me I am."

He sighs when he's done talking, a huge boulder falling off his shoulders. Jungkook is still staring at him in utter disbelief, mouth slightly opened, his eyes huge.

"You thought Mingyu and I were together?" he asks, like that's the most important part of the story.

"Yes," Hoseok answers meekly. He's really not proud of the whole situation.

"And you ran away because you thought I was cheating on him and you didn't want to be the other man, not because you found out I have a daughter?"

"Wh- yes! Why would I run away because you have a child? She's the sweetest little thing ever!" He replies, sounding almost offended.

"Hoseok, I need you to really listen when I say this, but Eunha is always my priority. She will always come first for me, no matter what. Do you understand this?"

"Of course," Hoseok says, heart beating erratically. Before he knows it, Jungkook has taken a few steps forward into the living room, sinks down on the couch next to him and engulfs him in a tight, all-encompassing hug.

"I've missed you so much," he whispers into the crook of his neck, voice sounding wet with tears. "Don't leave me ever again."

"I won't," Hoseok promises, holding him closely to his chest. And in that moment, everything is fine. 

-end-

**Author's Note:**

> Dear Reader, I hope you enjoyed that! If you did, please leave a comment or some kudos or tweet me (@kidultscheol on twt) to tell me what you thought!
> 
> My next few projects are mostly gonna be about SVT but I still hope everyone looks forward to them!
> 
> Until then, I wish you all a happy New Year's Eve, I hope you all get into 2021 well and I'll see you in the next year!
> 
> \- Lou


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